Promoting rescue, adoption and second chances for dogs, cats, bunnies, and their peeps

Monday, October 9, 2017

Keeping Pets Safe And Found With Pawscout

Ruby is not much of a flight risk. Whether we are at home or out and about, she stays glued to my side no matter what. But if something happened when she was home alone, I am not sure what she would do. We are her safe place and if we weren't around, she might freak and flee.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Pawscout. I was provided with Pawscout The Smarter Pet Tag in exchange for an honest review. However, I am selective and only share product information that would be helpful or relevant to my readers.

Pawscout The Smarter Pet Tag communicates with your smartphone and others with the Pawscout App to ensure the safety of your pet. Using a low-energy Bluetooth radio signal, the Pawscout App tracks your pet and alerts you when they leave your yard, home, or side at a public park, event, etc.

The Pawscout Basics

Once you have your Pawscout Pet Tag, the first step is to download the App on your phone. The App is free, but does require a newer iOS or Android smartphone. When you first get the App, you enter your pet’s name, age, breed, special characteristics, health or behavioral issues, a recent photo and your contact information.

The final step is to connect the Pawscout tag with the App, which basically involves holding the tag up to your phone so they magically sync up. Once the two are connected, you can turn on the virtual leash to track your pet's movements. You will also see a map with your dog's picture, showing their current location.

The tag itself can be attached directly to your pet’s collar or worn as a tag. It’s slightly larger and thicker than a standard identification tag, measuring 1.6 x 2.0 x .4. However, the tag is lightweight and Ruby, who weighs 15 pounds, doesn’t notice it at all. The tag is also water resistant and can be submerged in three feet of water for 30 minutes (Ruby hates water so we didn’t actually test this). Additionally, Pawscout tags can be customized with contact info and decorative features. Pawscout comes with CR2032 battery, which generally lasts about 6-12 months.

How We Tested Pawscout

Once we had everything set up, I turned on the virtual leash, the alert feature. I then left my phone with my husband and took Ruby for a walk. Sure enough, once we were about 300 feet from our house, he received an alert that Ruby was out of range. We did the same thing with a car ride.

Not only does Pawscout and the virtual leash work when you are at home, but it also serves as a safety net when you are out in public. We took Ruby to a forest preserve to test the tag away from home. One of us walked with Ruby and the other stayed with the phone and again it worked like a charm. If you are dog is off leash at a park or doggie beach, you will get a notification if they are more than 300 feet from you (and your phone). Sometimes we all get distracted.

Other Fun Pawscout Features

1. Easy Installation. Pawscout is super easy (and fun) to install and takes less than five minutes. Once you have everything all set, a map will appear with a photo of your pet in their location. If they move, their location will change.

2. Track Walks. In addition to the virtual leash, you can also track and map your daily walks – route, time, and mileage.

3. Pin Favorites & Hazards. The Pawscout App includes a map where you can also pin your favorite dog friendly places as well as pet hazards in your area. These pins are public and will appear on all Pawscout user maps in your area. So, for example, if a coyote is spotted in your neighborhood you can pin the location to warn other pet owners.

4. Make Pet Connections. PawScout is a great way to build community and establish a safety set with other pet people in your area. If the worst happens and your pet goes missing, Pawscout will notify all nearby users – plus, you will already have a built in support system to help bring your pet home safely.

My only issue was the size of the tag. When Pawscout first contacted us, I had hoped the tag would serve as a safety net for our cat Rosie - who sometimes tries to escape and also has hearing loss. Unfortunately, the tag is recommended for pets over ten pounds. Miss Rosie is quite petite and weighs only eight pounds. However, I am sure the tag would work well for larger indoor/outdoor cats. Overall, I would definitely recommend Pawscout especially for skittish or shy dogs, escape artists, as well as those with health or behavioral issues.

Want to be one of the first to try Pawscout? The company has generously provided four tags to give away to select readers. Winners will receive the Pawscout Tag and instructions on how to download the app for free.

That sounds like a great thing. I would love to know where some of my cats go when they go off for a day or two but I would be scared to put a collar on them for fear they would get caught in something. Great review.

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We are never given the chance to escape, but one never knows. One can never be too safe. This sounds like a great product. Mom says it would even be helpful when it is dark outside and we hide in the bushes when we don't want to come in:) Thanks for telling us about Pawscout.

I have three rescued Treeing Walker Coonhounds, and if you know anything about hounds, they follow their noses. Our garage is behind our house, with a long stretch of driveway running between our house and the neighbor's fence. We decided to put gates across the driveway to give our kids more room to play when they were young, and now for the dogs to have more running room. However, the gates are never as secure as the rest of the fence, and I worry that one or more of my dogs could get out (they have in the past) and of course, they will take off after any smell. This would be great for them. I would have really loved to have something like this for my deaf hound girl, Ran (she passed from an autoimmune disorder 2-1/2 years ago). Since she couldn't hear me, it was that much more difficult to track her down if she ever got out of the yard.

These tracking tags are fantastic for boundary management, especially when we get chatting at the dog park, or if we have a cat who wants to wander to the neighbours. I'm especially impressed by the Track Walks function.Annette

I'd love to try this out on my cats! They don't go out very often - but Bear likes to prove he can escape and then realizes it's not all that great outside. Luckily, he hasn't gotten far, but I'm always scared there's a first time for everything.

i like this a lot, i like that it tracks your walks and mileage. i also like it is small enough for small dogs. this is nice since i live on 11 acres and the girls can sometimes get away, trying to chase the deer, so this would be nice to help find them.